37 



with great force, owing, in some cases, to a serious shortage in the 

 season's catch of fish. It is pointed out, in behalf of the fishermen 

 and the fish firms, that, they wove prepared 1 to handle as large, or 

 a larger catch of fish than usual, and that they will suffer serious 

 loss if an extension of time be not granted to enable them to make 

 up for the deficiency in the catch. To this commission it appears 

 strange that, during a season in which the fish appear, for some 

 reason OT other to be especially scarce, requests should be made 

 for an increased destruction of them, and that a longer time should 

 be allowed, because of the apparent scarcity of fish. In our opinion, 

 when the fish, for some reason, appear to be scarce, that is precisely 

 the time that they should be conserved, and the extensions asked for 

 appear, therefore, to be unwise and unnecessary from a fish protec- 

 tion point of view. Such extensions, we have information to show, 

 have often proved of no benefit at all to the parties who asked for 

 them. When an extension is asked and the season is lengthened 

 it often results in fishing operations being continued after the 

 stormy season has begun, entailing great loss of gear, and certainly 

 a waste of considerable catches of fish. The seasons specified in the 

 regulations should, in our opinion, be very strictly and closely ad- 

 hered to both in the interests of the fish supply and in the interests 

 of the parties who are engaged in the fish industry. 



DRAFTING OF A NEW SYSTEM OF FISHERY REGULATIONS FOR THE 



PROVINCE OF MANITOBA AND PART OF THE DISTRICT 



OF KEEWATIN. 



As we have pointed out in the body of our report, the existing 

 regulations cover not only the province of Manitoba, but the very 

 different waters of Saskatchewan and Alberta where the conditions Alberta and 

 are wholly unlike those of the Manitoba waters: Hence, a totally g 

 revised set of regulations is necessary, and, as we understand that Manitoba 

 a new set of regulations is being prepared especially for the more regulations, 

 western provinces, we beg to recommend the following series of 

 revised regulations for waters which we were commissioned to 

 investigate and report upon. It will be noticed in this code of regu- 

 lations which we suggest that a number of provisions are dropped 

 altogether which have long formed part of the Manitoba regulations, 

 but the time has come for a thorough revision, and we, therefore, 

 beg to recommend the following provisions as suited to the present 

 requirements of the fisheries in question. 



GENERAL. 



(1) Fishing by means of nets or other apparatus without license 

 or permit from the Minister of Marine and Fisheries is prohibited 

 in the waters of Manitoba and the District of Keewatin. 



(2) No license shall be granted to any person unless he is a 

 British subject, resident in the Dominion.- of Canada, and the actual 

 owner of nets, boats and fishing gear for which the license is 

 granted. Applications from residents living in the immediate local- 

 ity of the waters applied for shall have the preference in the grant- 

 ing of licenses. 



(3) Any resident settler, including Indian, is eligible for an 

 annual fishing permit to fish not more than one hundred (100) yards 



